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The role of women in greek literature
The role of women in greek literature
Role of women in ancient greek society
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Women Portrayed in Homer’s The Odyssey
Women were very important to the Greeks, and they showed this value in many ways. In The Odyssey Homer shows us the different ways women were looked upon through female characters, such as Penelope, Naussica, and Anticlia.
With Penelope, a faithful and loving wife to Odysseus, Homer reveals to us how the Greeks believed wives should act. She was loyal to Odysseus the entire time he was away on his journey, and even when it appeared as if he had passed on she still had faith that he would return. She resisted the suitors on the sole basis that she loved Odysseus and could not see herself with another man when he could still be alive. She was smart, and cunning. She shows us this in Book II when we learn she has avoided having to choose a husband by telling the suitors she would choose one of them once she finished the garment she was weaving. She would work all day, and remove the stitches by candlelight while the suitors slept. Odysseus was "blessed in the possession of a wife endowed with such rare excellence of understanding, and so faithful to her wedded lord" (p.256). Penelope was the picture of a perfect, devoted Greek wife.
Homer also portrayed the loyal daughter type using Naussica, the young princess of Scheria and daughter of King Alcinous. Like most daughters from the Greek civilization, she thought the world of her parents, and they thought the world of her as well. We see that she thinks highly of her father be...
Judged by modern Western standards, the treatment of women by men in Homer's Odyssey can be characterized as sexist. Women in Homer's Odyssey are judged mainly by their looks. If important men and gods consider a woman beautiful, or if her son or husband is a hero or has an important position such as king, the woman is successful. The way women in The Odyssey are treated is based on appearance, the things men want from them, and whether the woman has any power over men. During Odysseus' journey to the underworld he sees many different types of women. We hear about their beauty, their important sons, or their affairs with gods. We hear nothing about these women's accomplishments in their lifetime. Odysseus tells how Antiope could "boast a god for a lover,"(193) as could Tyro and many other women. Epikaste was called "that prize"(195) her own son unwittingly married.
The women were generally less defined than the men, but that is due to the fact that none of the women could be considered main characters, except perhaps Penelope. The woman all served a point, and were there to add to the plot or to compliment another character, like Penelope and Odysseus’s connection. Homer wrote women to help the plot along, but not be a major point or character themselves. The women are very important to the Odyssey, and the poem would not of been able to read the way it did if the women played no role. The poem illustrates women as important people, but only for the sake of a man. Homer wrote according to the greeks pyramid of social standing, where women were lower than men, but he still allowed women greater roles, and even gave them important tasks to fulfill, like Penelope and her suitors, or Helen and her elopement with Prince
Appealing to the reader’s emotions through stories is a commonly used technique, and Scelfo uses it beautifully. She starts the article out by introducing the reader to a young girl named Kathryn Dewitt. Whether they mean to or not, the reader develops some kind of emotional connection to this young girl. They feel as if they are a part of the story, for when
Marriage is considered as one of the most important decisions and events in a woman’s life, even though; she has no direct control over this romanticized idea, especially in this typical patriarchal society. The wisdom and cleverness of Penelope, which she uses in The Odyssey to free herself from the traps set up by the greedy and ruthless suitors, have distinguished her from the female supporting characters in the epic poem and hence, dismissed her from the assigned role as a female in a patriarchal society that the Greek’s culture had unequally attached for thousands of years. Penelope demonstrates her intelligence at the beginning of the epic poem when she cleverly esc...
In Ancient Greek times, women were considered to be inferior to men. They were never part of the action, nor were they given significant roles in a world dominated by men. However, in Homer’s The Odyssey, women were not downplayed to weak, helpless beings blended into the background, dependent on men to survive. In fact, together they shaped Odysseus’s journey and contributed to such a strong feminine attitude that have led some scholars to believe that a man could not have possibly have written such an epic.
The mothers, throughout the Odyssey, are insistent figures that are shown to give plenty of grief and pity, instead of supporting their husbands and/or sons, as far as in quests of personal or military matters. In many of the occurrences of these figures in the story, they are the same women who need support and guidance, themselves, because they are shown to be of the fragile and timid type. Deprived of the men that, normally, are helpful in their guidance, these motherly figures are brokenhearted and have gone astray. There is an excerpt from the epic that reveals Telemachus asserting his manhood as he orders his mother, Penelope, from staying away from the rooms in the palace, occupied by the suitors, because they still have, yet, to show reason to claim his father’s throne. In another instance, Homer mentions Anticlea, the mother of Odysseus, as dying because she longed for her son, as opposed to dying from any sort of illness; these two parts show a dependency from their mothers and how devot...
Greek women, as depicted in their history and literature, endure many hardships and struggle to establish a meaningful status in their society. In the Odyssey, Penelope’s only role in the epic is to support Odysseus and remain loyal to him. She is at home and struggles to keep her family intact while Odysseus is away trying to return to his native land. The cultural role of women is depicted as being supportive of men and nothing more. Yet what women in ancient Greece did long ago was far more impressive than what men did.
In the era of Homer, women played a very specific role in society, and even in literature. Women of this time were basically put in a box, and expected to never step out of line. If they did go against the arbitration of men, then they were faced with serious consequences. However, female characters play a huge role in both aiding, and delaying Odysseus’s journey home. I will proceed to analyze, and interpret the actions and intentions of every major female character in The Odyssey.
Greek tragedy incorporates female characters that symbolize women in Ancient Greece. Through the portrayal of Antigone in the playwright, Antigone in Antigone by Sophocles and Penelope in the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, these two women play opposing roles depicting how they appear to society through their actions. In both of these stories, they embody the ideals of passionate women who are very loyal and brave. Through other female characters in each story such as Penelope and Ismene, we can construct a better view of traits illustrated by Antigone and Penelope.
Indeed, women play an influential role in life. In The Odyssey, women appear as goddesses, wives, and servants who are faithful, wise, and powerful. In Homer 's ballad The Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful and loyal wife of Odysseus. Penelope expresses her courage, compassion, and helpfulness throughout The Odyssey. She has faith and depends on the goddess Athena to grant her wishes.
Such a society obviously places severe restrictions on the position of women and what is considered to be acceptable behaviour for women”. (Whittaker 39) Penelope is forced to step out of the typical Homeric Greek woman role in order to make sure Odysseus has a success homecoming. She does this by proving to be clever, like her husband, when she tricks the suitors, claiming that she will choose one once she finishes a burial shroud for Laertes. Every night she undoes the weaving she has done for the day. This works until some of her house servants catch her. Another example of this trickery, is her promise to marry any suitor that can string and shoot Odysseus 's bow. Penelope knew no one but Odysseus could do this. There are many different interpretations of Penelope 's role as a woman in this moment of the epic. Homer has Penelope show a role that isn’t what you would normally see in a Homeric Greek woman. She depicts that she can be just as manipulative as a man can
The Odyssey: Portrayal of Women How does Homer portray women in the epic, The Odyssey? In order to answer this question you must look at woman and goddesses as two separate groups of people who are "people". This is because they are portrayed in two separate ways. You see, a regular woman like Penelope is looked at as beautiful but has.
“Though he was longing to return to his wife and country, was detained by the goddess Calypso, who had got him into a large cave and wanted to marry him” (Homer Book1). After, he left Calypso and ended up with a witch goddess, Circe, which he been with for a year. While all of this happening, he have a wife and child in Ithaca. Odysseus is intelligent, strong, and brave man some people will call him a hero, but he is also a cheater and a liar. When he left to go fight in the Trojan War, he left behind his wife and his only son. While he lived the double life sleeping with Calypso and Circe; Penelope was being a thoughtful wife. She stayed faithful to her husband because she could not see herself being with anyone else. Penelope husband was gone for twenty years, so she became celibacy until her husband came back. When suitors came to her door for her hand in marriage, she turn them down because she knew she took a vow to stay commit “in sickness and in heath through death do us
The character of Penelope in Homer's Odyssey reflects the faithful wife who waits twenty years for the arrival of her husband. Only a strong woman could sustain the stress, anxiety and confusion resulting from the chaos of a palace with a missing king whose fate is unknown. Her responsibilities and commitments toward the man she loves are particularly difficult to keep, under the strain of the situation. Although she does not actively pursue an effort to find him, her participation in the success of Odysseus' homecoming can be seen in her efforts to defend and protect the heritage, reputation and the House of Odysseus in his absence. As Odysseus withstands his trial, Penelope withstands her trials against temptations to give in to the many anxious suitors, to give up on her faith and respect for her religion, her husband and even her self. Penelope's strength in keeping the highest standards in her function as a wife, woman and mother contributes to the success of Odysseus' homecoming by keeping the home and family for him to come back to.
Mallard supposed to be with her husband by his side and giving him advice she was not. This also lead to the news that they gave her husband had died and she was happy , she felt free. Her sister thought Mrs Mallard was crying in her room or very sad but she was not. “She said it over and over under her breath: Free, Free, Free!”(Kate Chopin 's View on Death And Freedom in the story Of An Hour,1).This was unexpected and weird in many ways . It was expected that Mrs Mallard was going to react differently as she really did. This means that maybe the years she was with her husband she was going to get attached to him but she was not . “Her sister Josephine,reminded us of her conventional thought that women should attach themselves to their husbands”(Kate Chopin 's View on Death and Freedom in the story Of An Hour,1). After that Mrs Mallard wanted her time alone in the room nobody actually knew how she felt in reality. She had a conflict in her life. Mrs. Mallard had her own experiences and thoughts. Love , freedom, and marriage were her things. Maybe she was suffering and she stuck in her mind those ideas and felty all the peace she wanted. She was not really conscious it was between her world and the actual real world she had to face. This leads to her feelings sometimes she wouldn 't love her husband , and sometimes she would and it was all mixed up into different feelings and emotions. When she saw her husband in the door she cried , but it was of happiness not sadness and it was a rare death. We as readers consider that seeing her husband shocked her and anguish when she sees her husband. The doctor eventually said a different thing that the joy killed Mrs. Mallard .” The conflict between Mrs. Mallard’s life and death becomes so irreconcilable that she finally dies of heart disease when she is told that she will see her husband come home alive instead of death in the railroad disaster.”(Kate